Designer Burgers, Craft Beer Star At Prime 16

New Haven’s contemporary dining scene has never lacked burgers. How could it? The city is home to the very restaurant credited with inventing the sandwich in 1900. That was the year Louis Lassen of Louis’ Lunch was said to have accommodated a rushed customer by placing ground steak trimmings between two slices of bread.

Burgers have since evolved so wildly that Lassen would hardly recognize today’s incarnations – seasoned, truffled, smothered in fine cheeses, festooned with fried eggs, served on pretzel buns. Just a quarter-mile from Louis Lunch’s current Crown Street location, Prime 16 has been working this gourmet-burger niche for several years, serving the Elm City with its inventively gluttonous creations and tying it all together with a top-notch tap list of local and regional craft beers.

The Temple Street burger bar and tap room boasts the kind of menu dietary “cheat days” are made for — 8-ounce patties on thick brioche buns with a laundry list of sauces, cheeses and garnishes. Spiced candied bacon is both a topping and a bar snack, and you can even have bacon blended right into your burger patty for maximum flavor. (The Half-Bacon burger lives up to its moniker, with a bacon-blended patty that’s then topped with more smoked applewood bacon.)

Prime’s pre-designed burgers ($10.95 to $13.95) showcase a lot of flair: the “honey truffle” with Swiss and julienned honey-truffle potato chips; the “pickle back” with bourbon stout BBQ sauce and spicy dill pickle chips; and the “NY Steakhouse” with a cracked black pepper-seasoned patty, crumbled bleu cheese, tobacco fried onions and wilted spinach. A DIY option invites you to get creative with choices of patty, cheeses and vegetable, meat and condiment toppings.

Sandwiches ($8.95 to $12.95) offer a change of pace, with three chicken options: a barbecue brisket, grilled cheese with pesto, and a Prime BLT on a pretzel roll with rosemary Dijon mayo. All burgers and sandwiches come with pickle and a choice of one side.

My colleague delighted in cutting into the fried egg that topped her Cowboy burger, and watched with glee as the runny yolk dripped down the beef patty with Wisconsin cheddar and smoked Canadian bacon. And while my ahi tuna po’boy didn’t have that kind of showstopping action in its presentation, it arrived perfectly medium rare, with fried onions, sriracha sauce, butterhead lettuce and sliced tomato.

While this is an ideal spot to forget calories exist, Prime 16 does offer plenty of healthier fare — there’s a housemade mushroom-and-pecan veggie burger; alternative burger patties in turkey, bison and salmon varieties, and large salads ($9.95 to $10.95) with several housemade dressings. If you really want that big burger, feel semi-virtuous by ordering a side of sauteed garlic and kale instead of truffle Parmesan fries.

Six of the 20 drafts on the day of our visit were Connecticut-crafted, with representation from five Nutmeg State breweries. We enjoyed Relic Brewing’s Tropicale, an IPA brewed with orange blossom honey, which offered a little sneak peek of spring sunshine. Premium drafts are half-price during Prime 16’s happy hour, which runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 pm and Saturday from 2 to 4 pm.

Some believe the humble hamburger needs very little enhancement; the no-ketchup rule at Louis’ Lunch is legendary, a way to let the meat’s quality stand on its own. But Prime 16 proves there’s plenty of room for designer options as well.

>>Prime 16, 172 Temple St. in New Haven, is open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m; and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 203-782-1616 or visit prime16.com.